Bristol’s balloon fiesta set to wow crowds

The Jones Lang LaSalle Bristol International Balloon Fiesta looks set to become the most exciting in recent memory with an action-packed range of entertainment.

The Balloon Fiesta’s twice daily mass ascents will take place from Friday to Sunday at 6am and 6pm and feature up to 150 balloons. The Thursday evening Special Shapes Rodeo will be the biggest in several years, with thirteen special shapes set to wow the crowds.

Palletways’ smoke-breathing 61ft ‘Slick the Dragon’, which has the only glass-bottom balloon basket in the UK will be appearing at the event, along with the Bristol made Monster.com balloon, the George White Motorbike, Woody the Woodpecker, Blue Square and the huge Churchill Nodding Dog, which is about the size of an office block at 34 x 24 metres.

The giant Jaguar XK8 balloon which was the centrepiece of last year’s Night Glow will also appear at this year’s Fiesta, along old favourites including Choc Dips, Babybel, the Panasonic Battery, Club Orange Can, Action Man and the Stowells Wine Box.

The Friday Night IlluminAir is set to thrill crowds, with an aerobatics performance at dusk which will light up the night skies over Ashton Court. A pair of agile ‘Silence Twister’ singleseat airplanes will perform exciting aerobatic manoeuvres including loops and rolls whilst trailing sparkling fireworks and smoke from their wings.

The World famous Thursday and Saturday Night Glows, where balloons light up like giant light bulbs in time to music, will have an exciting ‘British’ twist this year. Keep your eyes peeled for further announcements in the days before the event.

Saturday afternoon will include a Spitfire Memorial Flight, and a performance by the UK’s premier military Parachute Display Team, the RAF Falcons.
This year the Fiesta will take place in the rolling hills of Ashton Court from Thursday August 9th – Sunday August 12th. 

For more information and to buy advance car parking visit www.bristolballoonfiesta.co.uk.

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